Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Beat Mass Effect 2 and loved it! I got everyone out alive, too. Almost done playthrough #2, and also started a new game of Mass Effect 1. I can has Mass Effect 3? PLEASE.

Word count is up to 32,224 on Ala'der, not counting at least 10-12k words in various out of order scenes and exercises from class. Have a critique group online with some writer buddies which is going well and preventing too much slacking off. I'm working backwards in a sense, and adding some new chapters between 2 and 3. Looks like 2-3 chapters, and so far, I like the results.

Preparing to send off my entry for Hound for the PNWA literary contest - I even picked out my required three pieces of different colored paper today. In case you're dying to know, they're purple, orange and red. Why? Because that's what was available for looting in the local supply closet at work. To give the postal service a full week, I need to drop it in the mail tomorrow. I did a rewrite/reorganize of the beginning, then decided (via my own ponderings and the feedback of some writer pals) to revert to my original opening. Also, my synopsis is cliche ridden and made of supersuck, but I don't think anything shy of immaculate conception is going to remedy that in the next 24 hours. But to quote the classy Zombieland (oddly appropriate), time for me to Nut Up or Shut Up. So this goes in the mail, do or die, tomorrow.

On the PNWA note, all signed up for the conference in July, which includes two ten minute agent pitches. Plenty of time to overcome horror and apprehension. I'm also signed up to volunteer, which should be fun.

The PFC class is going well. Pam even brought us roses and a candle for our discussion about sex scenes and sexual tension. That was an interesting class!

I'm still alive, still writing, still reading blogs. Posting has been a little low, but I figure things will pick up eventually. I guess I just haven't had much to say!

Oh, and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains starts Thursday. Just making sure you all remembered, that's all. 'Cause it's very important.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Quelled the collector threat and managed to get my entire team out alive. Huzzah. Did everything possible, including current downloadable, all planets probed (including Uranus (and that is not a joke)), scanned and side quests completed, all loyalty quests successful and a Thane romance thrown in the mix.

/flex

Though I hardly feel any better, because just like part II in a movie or novel trilogy, it ended on a huge ciff hanger... I thought this would be my Mass Effect fix. That I could relax and not be dying to know what's going to happen to the universe. But no, Bioware, nooooooo. I'm more excited than ever for the final instalment of the series! Man, the wait is going to be a long one.

In order to prepare properly for ME3, and try and get over my need to in the Mass Effect world, I'm about halfway through my second play through on Paragon Colt Shepard, who has eyes only for Kaiden and a slightly more...pleasant outlook on things.

You get to make a lot of interesting choices in this game (and choices you made in Mass Effect 1). Choices that I'm dying to know how they'll effect (har har) #3. I'm going to do a few major differences in my play through with Colt.

This game really is awesome. The reviews aren't lying. Even things I thought I'd miss (like tons of loot) don't really matter is the scope of how fun this game is. The story is exciting, the tension is great, and the characters - even ones I expected to dislike - were amazing. On the downside, planet scanning does get old on the second play through (though you do get a nice starting stash based on achievements when you start a new game after beating it once - this does help some, but its not enough to get all upgrades), but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

And thank the maker that the MAKO is dead. I hated that thing.

In short, Mass Effect 2 is a super fun game - but if you're going to become one with the Shepard, why not play the first one? The small details - all the little things you did in ME1 - make the world feel alive. Like this world is YOUR world.

I am starting to get a stiff neck and a sore pinkie finger from spending so much time playing...

About Me

I write for an employee magazine by day, and when I'm not making corporate propaganda more fun to read, I write fiction. I also play way too many video games, am obsessed with Riddick from the movie Pitch Black, and drink lots of Diet Coke with Lime.

PNWA

The Screaming Guppy

Why the Screaming Guppy?

Once upon a time, a circle of friends decided it would be fun to have nicknames, more specifically, animal nicknames. As names trickled in, there were those such as The Crafty Badger, The Wiley Minx, The Fox and The Party Weasel. Then, in the twists and turns of the maze of cruel humor, the last name dished out was The Screaming Guppy. Why? Because, at times, I tend to be loud when I get excited about something and they thought it would be funny to make me a feeder fish. (That and I once had a pet guppy that refused to die.) Unfortunately, the name as stuck and despite many appeals I still remain the only non-mammal in the group.